Bill easing licensing of foreign doctors scrapped

The House of Representatives yesterday scrapped legislation seeking to grant temporary permit to foreign doctors to practice in the CNMI, claiming medical practitioners based on the islands are competent to meet the needs of anticipated retirement communities here.

A report by the House Committee on Health and Welfare said the present licensing scheme for doctors has enough safeguards against medical fraud and injury that ensure effective delivery of health care to residents and visitors.

While praising the effort to provide much-needed services to foreign retirees who may want to settle here, the committee believed giving exemption to doctors catering to this particular group is not proper.

It said the licensing process now employed by the Commonwealth allows the Medical Professional Licensing Board to scrutinize the applicant’s medical training, experience and specialty certification, including those who graduated from foreign schools.

“This type of screening affords the public with adequate protection from medical practitioners who may have problems maintaining their medical license from another jurisdiction because of quality care issues or from individuals who may purport that they are medical practitioners but are really not,” it added.

The House adopted during yesterday’s session the report which was a result of testimonies presented by government agencies and health care providers on the islands to the committee chaired by Rep. Malua T. Peter.

Called the Foreign Doctors Licensure Act of 2000, the measure was sponsored by Senate President Paul A. Manglona who stressed the move would bolster bid by the CNMI to become a haven for retirees from other countries.

This would have complemented an earlier law signed by the governor which led to the creation of retirement communities here for foreigners, especially Japanese.

Economic boost

Senators maintained Public Law 11-60 advocating the retirement communities is not enough to entice elderly people into the Commonwealth, who could then contribute to the local economy through new sources of capital and consumer spending.

“Retirees, because they are getting on in age, are especially concerned that good medical care be available. Most importantly, they need to feel that doctors and other medical personnel with whom they feel comfortable will be readily available,” the bill stated.

“Without this assurance, the wealthy foreign nationals the Commonwealth hopes to attract will not be willing to relocate here,” it added.

In response to this need, the measure had sought to provide temporary license through reciprocity to doctors and other medical personnel who “not only speak the foreign language, but also have the necessary cultural sensitivity and familiarity with the type and manner of medical practice in the home country.”

The House’s decision to junk the proposal hinged on the opposition raised by Department of Public Health and the licensing board which informed the committee of the protections in place under the current system.

They also disclosed local standards are comparable, if not better than, the licensing requirements found across the nation and territories.

“[T]he present cadre of medical practitioners now licensed to practice medicine in the CNMI are able and professionally competent to meeting the health care needs of the targeted population of retired foreign nationals,” the Health and Welfare committee said in its findings.